High school girls soccer: Raptors extend winning streak, while Phoenix remains winless

Lyza Taylor, left, celebrates with her Rivendell teammate Shaylee Carter, right, after scoring against Sharon Academy during the Raptors' 4-0 win in Orford, N.H., on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Lyza Taylor, left, celebrates with her Rivendell teammate Shaylee Carter, right, after scoring against Sharon Academy during the Raptors' 4-0 win in Orford, N.H., on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Valley News photographs — James M. Patterson

Shaylee Carter, of Rivendell, right, changes direction as Natalie Young, of Sharon Academy, left, challenges in Orford, N.H., on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. Carter made two assists in the Raptors' 4-0 win. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Shaylee Carter, of Rivendell, right, changes direction as Natalie Young, of Sharon Academy, left, challenges in Orford, N.H., on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. Carter made two assists in the Raptors' 4-0 win. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Sharon Academy Head Coach Ben Diller talks over the Phoenix defense during half time of their game with Rivendell in Orford, N.H., on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. Rivendell won 4-0. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Sharon Academy Head Coach Ben Diller talks over the Phoenix defense during half time of their game with Rivendell in Orford, N.H., on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. Rivendell won 4-0. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Valley News – James M. Patterson

Allie Vogelien, of Rivendell, left, passes out wide away from Maddy Mintz, of Sharon Academy, right, in Orford, N.H., on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. Rivendell won 4-0. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Allie Vogelien, of Rivendell, left, passes out wide away from Maddy Mintz, of Sharon Academy, right, in Orford, N.H., on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. Rivendell won 4-0. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. James M. Patterson

Rivendell Coach Jason Knowles calls,

Rivendell Coach Jason Knowles calls, "Good stuff," to Lily Murray after one of her shots on goal against Sharon Academy in Orford, N.H., on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. Murray scored one for the Raptors in their 4-0 win. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. James M. Patterson

By ALEX CERVANTES

Valley News Staff Writer

Published: 10-05-2024 5:01 PM

ORFORD — Rivendell girls soccer coach Jason Knowles doesn’t want the regular season to end. 

In a perfect world, the first-year coach could prolong it. He could manufacture a little more time to capture every bit of magic this group of 17 girls has to offer. But as the temperature cools and the fall foliage reaches its crescendo, the postseason creeps closer and closer. With it comes the reality that this season will have to come to an end at some point, whenever that may be. 

For now, though, the Raptors just keep winning, a byproduct of burgeoning confidence across the team and “a little bit of a change of pace” from last season, according to senior Erin Ricker.

“They are so supportive of each other,” Knowles said. “The culture, the leadership from the upperclassmen has been wonderful to watch. And it gives us energy as coaches. It’s been fun.”

Rivendell has opened the season on a nine-game winning streak, which was extended Thursday with a 4-0 shutout victory over The Sharon Academy. 

The meeting between the Raptors and Phoenix was their second of the season — Rivendell won the first game at TSA on Sept. 17, 9-1. 

Thursday’s game pitted two teams of dueling fates. Undefeated versus winless. An offensive juggernaut unleashed by Knowles, one that boasts a plus-41 goal differential this season, against a collection of girls that are fighting a narrative that the program is stuck in neutral by using “forced positivity,” Sharon’s coach Ben Diller said.

“The program itself has had a rough last few years,” Diller said. “The players within the program have gotten pretty used to the results that have happened. So for better or worse, there’s this idea that this is what the program is. But being able to have them shift their focus and reevaluate the way that we’re going through the season is the biggest piece.”

Article continues after...

Yesterday's Most Read Articles

DCYF says it doesn’t have enough money in its budget to let federal benefits flow to NH foster families
A Life: Jimmy Proctor ‘was the father of the town’
Enfield brewery plan back on track
Carnival races give Dartmouth a taste before hosting NCAA championships next month
In Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, residents organize to tackle housing crisis
Vermont Supreme Court dismisses senators’ lawsuit over education secretary as ‘moot’

Diller entered the season with high expectations after returning a large chunk of his roster from 2023. 

But the soccer gods can be a cruel bunch and sometimes the odds, or luck rather, aren’t in your favor. Chalk it up to whatever you want — shots off the woodwork, penalties conceded or anything else in this beautifully twisted game — but Diller said he felt last year as if the ball “bounced for us a couple more times than it has so far this year.”

After surrendering an early three-goal deficit to Rivendell in the two teams’ first meeting, Diller saw “heads drop quickly” as the game spiraled into an eventual eight-goal defeat. 

The second-year coach saw a mentality shift on Thursday, and had it not been for a deflection off a TSA defender in the 36th minute, the two squads would have gone into halftime knotted up in a scoreless deadlock.

Reacting to a shift in style from the Raptors, the Phoenix (0-8-1) opted to sacrifice a bit of possession in favor of additional defensive stability. Knowles complimented TSA on holding its shape throughout the game, which forced Rivendell to make a formation shift in the first half to open up its attack.

The tactical adjustment worked for the Raptors, who scored three goals in nine minutes midway through the second half to secure the 4-0 win. 

Despite suffering their eighth straight loss, Diller remains impressed by his team’s resilience.

“The results can be a deterrent,” Diller said. “(You ask yourself), ‘Why do I continue to play? What am I getting out of this season?’ But they’re continuing to show up every day for practice, they’re continuing to show up to games, and they’re still competing when they’re getting in the games.

“A lot of these players are playing (soccer) because it keeps them in shape for basketball, or, for some of them, because their friends are on the team, so it’s something to do. So when you’re not, as we’ll call it, a soccer ‘player’ at heart, it’s easy to let yourself be drawn away, disconnected from what’s happening, but they keep themselves engaged and involved with the process.”

Knowles saw a similar dedication manifest itself within his team early in the season. It’s only been furthered as the wins continue to mount.

Rivendell scored 39 goals last season in 16 games. This year’s Raptors needed only seven games to eclipse last season’s total scoring tally. The four goals fired past the Phoenix pushed Rivendell to the half-century mark. 

Polishing the team’s passing and shooting has been a point of emphasis at practice, according to sophomore striker Lily Murray. The players have also benefited from practicing in a variety of positions and formations.

“It allows us to stay fresh whenever we go on the field, since we’re always trying something new,” Ricker said. “We’re never doing the same thing, so we don’t get as sedentary as we would if we were doing the same thing over and over again.”

It was an offseason of change for Rivendell, which lost seven players from the 2023 squad and saw Knowles replace longtime coach Tim Goodwin, who had led Rivendell to the state semifinals in three of the last four seasons. But Knowles’ familiarity with the latest bunch of Raptors has paid dividends.

He knew 11 of the initial 14 players on the team — three additional girls have joined Rivendell since the start of the season — from his time as a youth coach for Rivers Edge Soccer Club. Such built-in knowledge has allowed him to unlock the talents within the squad and coach the players to fill two or three different positions.

One of those talents is Murray, who spent much of her freshman season in defensive positions after playing as a striker in middle school, she said. Knowles knew he could use her “blistering pace” and touch to unlock Rivendell’s attack. And she has.

“She’s improved a lot on where to run to get the ball, where she should be making her runs because she played on the outside and was able to see that bigger view of the field,” Ricker said of Murray. “Now she just has amazing field vision and she gets (the ball) in the net.”

The sun is disappearing from view sooner with each passing day, a fitting reminder that the season is winding to a close. Rivendell (9-0) has just four games remaining on its schedule before the Division IV playoffs begin. 

For Knowles, regardless of the season’s outcome, he’s proud of the individual and collective improvement across the squad.

“We’re dedicated to going deep because that’s what the girls want,” Knowles said. “But no matter what happens, I am very confident we’re all going to look back on the season with great pride and appreciation for each other and what everyone’s done.”

For Murray and Ricker, the postseason goal couldn’t be any clearer: Win it all.

Alex Cervantes can be reached at acervantes@vnews.com or 603-727-7302.